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05/29/2013

Last Friday the three of us took off early for the holiday weekend and there were a bunch of trees sitting in the driveway.

When we got home on Monday, they had all been planted and they looked perfectly at home.

Its all so exciting.

We chose some beautiful trees. Three white bark river birch have been planted at the back of the property to help screen us from the neighbors. Adjacent but in a more prominent spot, we have a paperbark maple.

In the front, nestled under the Douglas firs, we have three new Kousa dogwoods, two in white and one in pink. They are perfect under the tall confier canopy and what's even nicer is that they are in bloom right now.

We have one last maple, a red-leaf Emperor Japanese maple that we have placed so that it will be perfectly viewable from the kitchen table.

Aren't they all amazing? I am so excited that the plants are starting to go in...the garden is really starting to come together and the vision that was black-and-white pencil on paper has become three dimensional and leafy.

05/22/2013

I was pretty motivated to get moving on the vintage camera bookends projects and got not one, but four different bookends finished in minutes squeezed out of just a couple days. I designed the bookends to be different but to share a look that is cohesive. It all sounds so intentional, doesn't it? Really I just scrapped around looking for materials and lucked out that they look great together.

I'm going to show you the basic method I used for the Canonet and brown leather covered Seagull camera. Then I'll just tell you what I did for the others.

I knew I wanted to increase the weight of the cameras so that they could actually hold books, so I thought of filling some kind of container with concrete and attaching the cameras to the top. I lucked out and found these square coconut wood boxes that I had previously tossed my beach glass findings into as I walked in the door of our house in Korea after returning home from the beach. Sigh, how I miss that beach.

I began by turning the box upside down, then measuring and marking the center point.

Then I drilled a hole at the center point. For the Canonet, I found a cheap drawer pull at the hardware store that I thought would make a great little platform for the camera. The surface was flat enough (though not totally flat) for the camera to sit securely on top.

After drilling the hole, I attached the drawer pull, with the screw hidden inside. I tightened it well so that the drawer pull was firmly attached and wouldn't rotate.

The platform created by the drawer pull isn't very high, but high enough for the camera to sit on top comfortably and to give it some separation from the base. Once the pull was attached to the base, I gave the whole thing a couple of coats of black enamel spray paint and let it dry.

I looked for concrete at the hardware store, but ended up buying this quick-set plaster at Michael's because it comes in a smaller quantity (I didn't want 10 pounds of concrete for a small job like this), it is cheaper, and it is easier for me to carry. This stuff is amazingly fast setting and easy to use - I mixed 2 parts of the plaster with 1 part of water, then poured it into the base (making sure not to scratch the newly painted knob when I turned it upside down). I let it sit for about an hour to set.

Finally, I mixed up a good bit of epoxy glue, the kind that comes in two tubes and consists of a glue and a hardener. I completely coated the top of the knob and placed the camera. Epoxy sets pretty quickly, so in another half hour or so I was done!

For the Seagull camera, I used the same base, but instead of using a drawer pull and epoxy, I used a long bolt called a hex cap screw that screws directly into the tripod thread of the camera. I chose this kind of bolt because I like how the threads are only on the end, leaving the rest of the screw a smooth steel. I had to use a hacksaw to cut off all but about 1/4" of the threads. I used the same method as above, inserting the screw into a hole drilled in the center of the box, then I added the step of using epoxy to secure the screw to the box on the inside and outside. After the epoxy dried, I again used the quick-set plaster to fill the box, the I spray painted the whole thing.

Super easy. Once the paint dried, I only had to screw the bolt into the tripod connector on the base of the camera and I was done.

The last two bookends are even easier. For the bellows-front Seagull, I used a little floating wall shelf I had bought and never installed. I gave it a good coat of paint, let it dry, then mixed up some epoxy and glued the metal feet (this camera has two odd little metal plates on the base) to the shelf. Done and done.

They just keep getting easier! The final camera I am using is an old Brownie that belonged to my grandfather. It is in good working condition and looks pretty good as well, and I did not want to do anything that will damage it in any way, so epoxy on the leatherette covering is out of the question. I used another floating wall shelf, just like the one above only bigger, that I cut smaller using a handsaw. I also used another cheap drawer pull. I gave them both a quick coat of black spray paint, then epoxied the drawer pull to the shelf. To connect the camera to the drawer pull without damage, I used a good wad of sticky tack. Its surprisingly strong!

Unlike the others, this is not a very secure method of construction (although sticky tack does work great for making a quick cake plate!). Although I can pick it up and move it with no problem, I will always make sure to support it underneath when I move it. Plus I think I'll just find a good permanent spot for it and make sure it stays put.

So there you go. A new set of coordinated but not matching bookends showcasing my favorite vintage cameras. The total cost of this project was ridiculously cheap as I already had the epoxy, sticky tack, spray paint, and boxes and floating shelves on hand. I had to purchase the quick-set plaster ($4.59 at Michaels minus a 40% off coupon), the two drawer pulls ($1 each on sale), and the hex screws ($1.49). Total: $6, or $1.50 each.

05/21/2013

The bid we didn't choose claimed that our garden project (including irrigation) would be done in nine days by a crew of one with occasional additional bodies brought in to help on an as-needed basis. After eight days, in which we have moved out of Phase 1: Demolition and almost through to the completion of Phase 2: Irrigation, I realize how completely nonsensical that first estimate was and how happy I am that we didn't let the lowest price be the deciding factor in our choice of contractor. Teufel has had from 4 to 8 workers on this project for six full days now, and we are only just winding up the irrigation phase. At least I think its winding up. Hard to say when there's still a few open trenches in the yard.

Since I last posted, typical May weather has moved in and its pouring rain. I can't even bring myself to go outside and snap a shot, so these are from a few days ago. Suffice it to say, there's a lot of mud now and the plants are happy. Right now the workers are laying landscape cloth in preparation for building a series of gravel and flagstone pathways. Tomorrow the trees may be installed and we are very excited about that.

05/20/2013

What should I do with my pretty but useless vintage cameras? They have been living in a dark old box since we moved home from China last year, and I want to either do something with them or find them a more loving home. I have tried scattering them around the built-in living room shelving in a carefree way, but to me they just look scattered and accidental, and not in a good way. Unlike this display from The Wicker House, which just looks beautiful and intentional.

I thought about either framing in a real shadow box, or in a more simplistic arrangement hanging in the center of a grouping of frames, like this from Meghan at Pocketful of Pretty or maybe this from Cardas Photography. But we have too much wall art already, collected from our travels around Asia, so these were not good options.

I finally settled on making bookends. Inspired by these from Anthropologie and these from Smile and Wave, I have decided to wing it and figure something out. I like the idea of mis-matched but coordinated bookends. I don't want them to all be the same because my cameras are not all the same. I don't want to destroy or damage my cameras in the process, and most of the cameras will need a little extra weight to hold up the books. I want them to look good, but they also have to function.

05/14/2013

It seems amazing that in one day a crew of workers can do what it would have taken me and B a month to do ourselves. I am having a little fit of anxiety at the demolition but I am keeping in mind that it has to be torn down in order to be built back up.

And if I thought lawn removal is stressful, I can only wonder what kind of anxiety seeing this beast in action is going to cause!

05/13/2013

A few months ago we hired Mira of Mira's Fresh Gardens to design a garden plan for our 1/4 acre yard. Mira has been working for us for 7 years already (she was responsible for taking care of the garden at our other home while we lived overseas), so we already knew she was trustworthy and that we can work with her. She created a beautifully detailed master plan that addresses our main concerns beautifully: we want to reduce the amount of lawn and accordingly, the amount of rainy season mud that surrounds our house. We don't feel much affection for the existing lawn, because it is in very bad shape (weedy, old, bumpy, and balding in many places), so it is easy to imagine life without most of it.

We wanted to add more native and low-maintenance plants, plant more flowering trees and fruit-producing shrubs, and give me lots of blossoms for summer bouquets. We want to create several garden "rooms" connected with gravel and flagstone pathways, including a flagstone patio where currently resides a pile of bricks and a dead tree stump. The new plantings will screen the view between our garden and the nearest neighbor, and leave plenty of room for vegetable beds. A new irrigation system will ensure the garden thrives.

We have been poring over the plan for four long months, and today, the Great Garden Project of 2013 begins. We chose Teufel Landscape to install the design, and lucky for us, they had a cancellation and were able to slot our project in a few weeks early. Teufel was not the lowest-cost option, but the bid was so beautifully detailed that we felt confident that there would be no major surprise expenses.

Take a look at the "before" shots and I'll start sharing protos of the project in progress. Click on the panoramas for larger images. Welcome to my garden!

04/27/2013

Last week I realized a sudden and urgent need for a cake plate. It was the morning of my mother's (admittedly informal) birthday dinner and I simply could not face the prospect of the beautiful bee-sting cake I had planned sitting on a lowly dinner plate.

I stopped by my favorite thrift store, hoping to find a bargain, and instead found one of the ugliest cake plates I had ever seen. I wish I had photographed it, it was that unbelievable. Some talentless crafter had taken a hot glue gun and (sloppily) glued a plate to an upturned bowl, then spray painted the whole creation purple, globs of glue and all. To finish it off, she added glitter. It was a glittery lavender nightmare, priced at $12.

I was simultaneously horrified and inspired. Dinner was in a few hours and the cake was not yet baked, but I knew what I would do. $2 and 20 minutes later my cake plate was done.

I started with a $1 candle holder and a $1 plate. The plate is a cute vintage Colonial theme piece with gold edging, made by the Cronin China Company of Minerva, Ohio. I cannot believe I like this piece, much less bought it. When did my tastes start trending from clean modern to cutesey vintage? When I moved into my dream farmhouse with its vintage kitchen, that's when!

I used a package of sticky tack (aka adhesive putty) that I had in the kitchen for hanging the First Grader's art on the wall. I just tore off pea-sized bits and stuck them on the rim of the candle holder.

I positioned the candle holder on the back of the plate...

pressed...

and that was it! Done!

The easiest ever. I love how the base of the plate hid any sticky-tack that might show. I also love how well the sticky tack held the pieces together. I tried, and it took sticking a screwdriver in between the pieces for me to pry them apart. I don't imagine this would hold up to washing, but for a quick and easy cake plate, you can't beat $2 and some sticky tack.

04/22/2013

My Mom came for a brief visit yesterday and I realized, only hours ahead of her arrival, that her birthday is coming right up. We don't see each other often, so it seemed a perfect moment to recognize her birthday with a home-made cake. Plus I had just read Deb's lastest recipe for Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich) at Smitten Kitchen and I guarantee that even if it hadn't been a birthday, I still would have found an excuse to make this cake.

I am not a great cake baker although I think cake is the best possible dessert. I am not detail-oriented enough to make beautiful, creative cakes like my friend LaWanda, nor have I had much opportunity to practice cake baking in the past few years because, while I was living in China my (horrible) oven would not hold a steady temperature, and on the best of days, would fluctuate around the desired temperature by about 40 degrees. I gave up.

Two things intrigued me about the Bee Sting cake: first, it is made with a yeast-based batter (who ever heard of such a thing?) and although I am cake challenged, I am great with bread, so I thought I couldn't lose. Second, it incorporates both caramel and pastry cream, two of my favorites. Naturally, I thought my mother would love it.

This was the most beautiful cake I have ever made, if your standard of cake beauty, like mine, tends more to "artisan" than "decorator." It turned out absolutely beautiful, with caramelly mountains of sliced almonds atop a perfectly golden cake. Unfortunately, I was assembling the two halves around the pastry cream right as the guest of honor arrived, and I didn't get a photo of the cake in all its perfection. The best I could do was to photograph the meager remains the next day.

This was perfection in a cake. My only complaint, and thus the only tip I can offer as an improvement to the recipe as written is to double the pastry cream. I thought it needed just a bit more creaminess. Maybe not twice as much, but at least half again as much, especially if you serve it, as I did, solo, without ice cream or whipped cream.

Notice my cute little cake stand? Tomorrow I will show you how I made it, in 5 minutes, for $3.

01/09/2013

We left most of our home furnishings behind in China when we came back to the US last summer. Since we have been home I have needed a nightstand, but I hadn't seen anything I liked well enough to pay for. Then last week I found this abused and neglected table in the thrift shop and knew I had found the piece I have been looking for - both a functional nightstand and the perfect piece to try Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I have been looking for a project ever since I saw the Blue Piano, and I was ready with the techniques I learned from Phyllis at the Purple Pear.

First of all, I paid too much for the nightstand, but didn't realize that until later. At the shop, I thought $20 a reasonable price, especially considering I had an impatient daughter with me who wanted me to leave - NOW - so I had to make a snap decision. I decided to buy it.

I didn't notice the stink. I didn't examine the crappy construction, the
stained particle board, the hair of unknown origin snagged in the
splintered details, or the plastic embellishments. All I saw was a
nice hardware on a feminine piece that I thought could be cute with a little help.

A few days of airing out on the front porch helped with the smell. A good scrubbing with Murphy's soap helped with the grime and staining. Finally, a good sanding didn't repair the damage, but it did smooth the splinters and rough up the cheesy plastic laminate surfaces enough to receive paint.

I used Duck Egg Blue and and probably could have used only one coat, but to make sure all the germs and grime were well sealed within, I used two. I also covered up all the yuck on the drawer interiors with two coats of Emperor's Silk. After a quick drying, I returned with a wet cloth and distressed a little on the edges and legs to let some of the fake gilding show through. It was perhaps the easiest project I have ever undertaken. No priming, no mess, easy. After a thorough dry, I applied a coat of clear Soft Wax and that was it. Done.

I love the extreme contrast of the brilliant red drawers with the sedate and feminine exterior. I used Chalk Paint for the drawer interiors, but the effect was somewhat lost on the bare particle board. I could have used any old paint for that.

The nightstand turned out perfectly. Here it is, in place. Doesn't it look lovely?

01/07/2013

Like most moms I struggle to stock the house with snacks that my daughter likes to eat and that are healthy and minimally processed. A few months ago I discovered this 4-ingredient banana oatmeal bar and have been tweaking it ever since. It has become a staple snack in our house and satisfies both kids and adults. I would even give this as breakfast in a pinch.

Basically, this recipe makes a soft granola bar without fat or added sugar.

I use Ziyad brand pitted date pulp, which I bought at Barbur World Foods and can be found at stores well stocked in Middle Eastern food items. The dates are labeled "baking dates" and come packaged as a brick of pulp.

Since my daughter's school is nut free (no peanuts, almonds, cashews, or even pecans), I omit nuts in favor of seeds. In this version, I used sunflower seeds because that's what I happen to have on hand. I have also used roasted pumpkin seeds or a combination of pumpkin and sunflower. If we were going to eat these primarily at home, I would include nuts (and perhaps even some peanut butter) with the banana puree.

This recipe goes together in a pinch and is so versatile you can add pretty much whatever you want to the basic mixture of bananas, oatmeal, and dates. I like to add dried fruit (in this case, a mixture of dried cranberries and golden raisins) and chocolate chips, but you could also add dried coconut, dried apricots or mango, apple, or even crushed banana chips.

Prepare a 9x9 or similar sized baking dish by lightly greasing then lining with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.

Peel rips bananas and puree in a large bowl using a potato masher or an electric mixer. The banana puree should be soft and almost liquid, and free of lumps and chunks. Add vanilla, cinnamon, flaxseed meal, salt, and mix well. Add oatmeal and stir to combine. Choose your additions (chocolate chips, seeds, nuts, fruit, coconut) and stir until blended. The mixture will be thick.

Spread oatmeal mixture into prepared pan and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350F for about half an hour, or until bars set up and the edges begin to brown.

Remove from pan and cool completely. Cut into bars. I keep these in the refrigerator, just to be sure they stay fresh and yummy.

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I love this recipe. I make it weekly and as long as I keep changing up the ingredients, my daughter never seems to tire of this sweet but healthy snack. I don't always feel like the best mom in the world (who does?) but I always feel good sending this bar to school for her morning snack.